Scarred
by Captain Comet
Summary: Beck, a teenage Riolu, lives a harsh life with his sister, Bella, under their abusive father. But one night, he is offered a chance at escape. This is his story of the life that came after, as well as the emotional scars and guilt that followed him through it. Please like and review!


I looked out through the whole in my bedroom wall that acted as a window. A few feet pass the house, the land seemed drop off into nothingness. I lived on a forested cliff, far enough from town that the Pokémon who lived there wouldn't come out of their way to see us. I forget the original reason why it was built here, but the current one seemed to be so they couldn't hear the cruelty that happened here. Noises like painful shrieking and whip cracking would draw too much unwanted attention for my dad if they could hear it.

At least twice a week, for one reason or another, my dad would whip my sister Bella and I with a long vine. If he didn't use the whip, he would physically beat us. Neither of us knew why. For all we could remember, he was abusive from the start. We just believed he was a cruel kind of person.

I liked to gaze out the window in my free time. Looking down at the valley far below gave me peace, despite the fact that it also showed how trapped I was. There was no way of escaping that provided more than a one percent chance of survival. Nighttime was the only time it could work, but the forest crawled with nocturnal predators that wouldn't hesitate to eat a small Riolu such as myself, let alone an even smaller Snivy such as Bella. And the cliff was a no-go. Neither of us were good enough climbers anyway, and the drop was about vertical, with an almost completely smooth slope that had nothing to grip.

I suppose the window gave me peace because it was the best gateway I had to the outside world. Dad would take us into town with him when he went, but it was very restrictive. If we stepped even slightly out of line, purposely or not, we were promised a whipping or beating that night.

"Beck!" my dad called.

"Coming!" I replied.

I ran out to the living room as fast as I could, nearly running into Bella in the process. She often liked to stare out the window with me, and most of the time I didn't notice her.

When I got out to him, dad said, "Go gather some more firewood." I nodded, walked toward the door, took the axe hanging next to it off the wall, and went out into the woods.

The axe was old and blunt. Dad refused to get a new one, saying that it would work until it physically broke, and then we could just use the blade until THAT broke. He blamed me when I often came back with only a few logs, which resulted in more abuse.

As I continued walking, I looked down at the long stones on my paws. Where a normal Riolu's were smooth and pristine, mine were dulled, cracked and chipped, due to both my dad hitting them and me trying to block myself when attacked by other Pokémon, which my dad forced me to fight against.

I couldn't see it, but I could also feel the many scars ad welts on my back and tail from the whip. They made it even harder to chop wood. Like every other time I went to collect firewood, I considered bolting. But like every other time, I remembered how big the forest was, and knew I wouldn't make it out before nightfall, even if I didn't get lost.

I found an old, dying tree. I always tried to find dead or dying trees for firewood, as they were softer and easier to chop. I began swinging the axe. I quickly began tiring, and the wounds on my back started burning, but I kept chopping, determined to gain enough wood to satisfy him.

I eventually chopped down the tree and collected a few logs, but the sun was setting, and I had to stop and go home, knowing fully well I didn't have enough.

When I got home, I hung the axe up in its place by the door, and put the wood in the chest over by the fireplace. Dad watched me the whole time. I prepared myself for him to call me back as I went into my room, but he never did. This was confusing. I knew I didn't have enough firewood. I eventually came to the conclusion that either he was going to do it later, or that we didn't need as much as I thought.

I saw Bella sitting on her bed, softly crying into her pillow. I could see the fresh scars on her back and tail. I didn't try to console her, as it wouldn't change anything. I instead stared at her for a few seconds. Like the stones on my arms, her tail was in much worse condition than others of her species. Her body as a whole was slightly faded in color. The yellow strips that connected to her neck were drooped, and her leaf tail was rough around the edges and torn in several places.

I walked back over to the window and began gazing out again, hearing the quiet sobs of Bella behind me. Eventually they stopped as she fell asleep. I soon fell asleep as well, my head drooping and my body eventually going limp with my head and arms hanging out the window.


End file.
